One inspired rally, and one spectacular play, may just be the turning point the Baldwinsville boys basketball team so badly needed.
The Bees were staring at a third consecutive defeat to open the season when it went to West Genesee last Friday night and erased a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Wildcats 59-58.
But it was the way that comeback ended that will stay with everyone – Cameron Skipworth rising up over WG’s forwards and slamming home an alley-oop pass with 18 seconds left to push his team in front for good.
WG was coming off back-to-back wins over Fayetteville-Manlius and Auburn, but had not played in a week. Concerns over rust quickly faded, though, and the Wildcats eased its way into the lead in the early going, leaving the Bees trailing, 33-26, at the break.
When that deficit grew to 48-39 entering the fourth quarter, WG may have started to ponder its showdown with unbeaten Henninger two days before Christmas –and if so, B’ville, though dressed in red, proved far less generous than Santa Claus, making the Wildcats pay for that drift.
As the final minutes wore on, B’ville, led by Skipworth, Tim Marshall and Ben DiOrio, whittled the margin to one. Then the Bees gained the ball – and Skipworth delivered his flying finish.
Still, it wasn’t over. The Wildcats worked for a winning shot, and took it – but it went off the rim, and an ensuing defensive scramble allowed B’ville to run out the clock.
Skipworth finished with 11 points, behind Tim Marshall, who had nine of his 17 points at the free-throw line, and ahead of Ben DiOrio, who had 10 points. Jordan Fragale, Ryan Kohutanich, Ben Webb and Devyn McLeod had five points apiece.
WG lost despite a game-high 21 points from Troy Temara, with Nick Cunningham adding 15 points and Sam Brown finishing with 10 points.
Now the Bees returned home and, on Monday night, made it back-to-back wins, rallying in the second half to record a 59-52 victory over Cicero-North Syracuse.
Having lost its top player, Jordan Evans, to a knee injury before the season even started, the Northstars, who lost a narrow Section III Class AA final to Utica Proctor last March, had lost three straight entering this game, but played a solid first half, leading most of the way.
Trailing 29-25 at the break, B’ville turned to its defense, who proceeded to shut down C-NS, holding them to a mere three points in the third quarter and moving out in front.
Led by Marshall, the Bees held on down stretch, Marshall finishing with a game-high 24 points and adding nine rebounds. Devyn McLeod had 10 rebounds to go with his seven points, while John Brecht produced 12 points. Skipworth, though lacking any last-second dunks, still had six points and five rebounds.
B’ville is part of the massive “More Than A Game” Holiday Tournament at SRC Arena this weekend, taking on Shenendehowa (Section II) Saturday at 3 p.m. and meeting Ithaca (Section IV) on Sunday at 4:30.
